As nitro cold brew moves out of boutique coffee houses and into the mainstream, brands are staking out footholds in this emerging market for both on-premise service and packaged products, and keeping the door open for as-yet-unexplored possibilities for infusing nitrogen into other beverages.

Rise Brewing Company is touting its coveted crown as the winner of New Beverage Showdown 13 after claiming the top spot in the early-stage beverage brand competition. Co-founders Grant Gyesky and Jarrett McGovern competed against entrepreneurs from five other brands participating in the final round of the Showdown, which is intertwined with BevNET Live Summer 2017 and held at Metropolitan West in New York City.

While there are a growing number of nitro offerings out there, this is, given the extra technical hurdle of working with nitro, still a point of differentiation for now. Fortunately though, what Rise has created is one of the best tasting nitro cold brews out there.

Given the investments into a cohort of cold brew companies and the pervasiveness of the new style, it’s likely that stores and distributors are going to need to find room for both clean and sweet cold brew styles. Thus far, it’s been left to individual companies to carve out their own philosophy towards indulgence.

Cold brew coffee is one of the fastest-growing segments in the beverage industry and surging demand has attracted hundreds of new brands to the market. Despite a crowded field, New York City-based Rise Brewing Co. believes its nitro-infused cans and kegs -- and a penchant for experimentation -- will help it rise above the rest.